Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

I love this day of the year! I grew up with a grandma that is 100% Irish and we celebrated this day every year with gusto. My corned beef is in the crockpot and we will be dining finely tonight! My children asked me today how corned beef was made - does it involve corn and if no, why the name? I found this little tidbit here.

Why do they Call it "Corned" Beef?

The term “Corned” comes from putting meat in a large crock and covering it with large rock-salt kernels of salt that were refered to as “corns of salt.” This preserved the meat. The term Corned has been in the Oxford English Dictionary as early as 888 AD.

Irish Were the First Exporters of Corned Beef. Irish were the biggest exporters of Corned Beef till 1825. The English were serving corned beef but also the Irish. In this day and age corned beef and cabbage is not very Irish, but corned beef is. The area of Cork, Ireland was a great producer of Corned Beef in the 1600’s until 1825. It was their chief export and sent all over the world, mostly in cans. The British army sustained on cans of Cork’s corned beef during the Napoleonic wars.

I love little tidbits of knowledge that that. :+) Do you have a good recipe for Irish Soda Bread? I often recommend this one, but make sure you substitute butter for margarine. It will not be the same without that change!

We are heading to our co-op today for some good "book larnin'" but also for some great fellowship and a build-your-own-potato bar! Yum!

For those of you looking for something "Irish" to study today, you might enjoy this old post of mine. The Book of Kells is exquisite and amazing and well worth your time. The picture links are no longer working on this old post, but you can see some of the gorgeous artwork here.

And to close I want to share a poem that is oft quoted this time of year, but I love it just the same.

May the road rise to meet you,May the wind be always at your back.May the sun shine warm upon your face;The rains fall soft upon your fields,And until we meet again,May God hold you in the hollow of His hand.